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I'm thinking of using a nalgene flask as a hot water bottle. Seems like a flat flask type bottle would work fairly well for hot water bottle use.

If I'm not mistaken, I believe Jeff has been using a soft nalgene, possibly as a pillow (yes w/ water) & as a hot water bottle.
I'm sure he'll chime in when he gets another break from work.

I haven't tried the soft nalgene canteens for hot water yet, but I'm thinking I would feel a lot safer w/ that than a Platypus. The only platy I've ever owned, leaked. A slow leak, but a leak non the less.

And being cautious like Cannibal talked about is right. Make sure you can really trust the hot water bottle you choose. A slow leak would not be good. A fast leak would be really bad ...& serious!!!

Since someone (I'm pretty sure it was Jeff) talked so positively about using a soft nalgene canteen w/ no sign of any leaks, I'm thinking that would be more comfortable to sleep with. I may put it in a dry bag, just to be safe.

Whatever you choose to use as a hot water bottle, I would recommend filling it w/ hot water at home & playing around w/ it (in a cozy to protect your skin).
Leave it over night & check for any sings of wetness.

It will definitely cool off faster...less volume to begin with, and more surface area for that volume. I'd think about carrying one of those around if needed during the day, and go with the bigger mass of a 32 oz bottle at night.

Grizz

I've been using an older Nalgene 32oz. the last couple of nights that has been in the 20's. It does work great. By morning it is warm to the touch, still above body temp I'm guessing...didn't really measure the water temp.

If the volume of water isn't substantial enough to be outputting greater than body temperature, I'd be concerned that the water is actually sucking the warmth out of you. Very similar to a maintaining a full bladder..it takes energy to keep it warm.

What does the warmth do to the void trigger? We all now the old put the hand of the sleeper in a pan of warm water and await the fireworks. I think part of flamingo's hesitancy has to do with the confused urge to void. I know I have a similar concern. Is it a legitimate concern?

that just means you need to carry a second bottle in the bag. Then you have two warm bottles!

I used two Platypus one liter bladders in my hammock last weekend. I put about 2/3 to 3/4 of a liter on the stove to boil then add it back to the bottle to make it hot. I don't use a sock or anything, just one at my feet and one under my knees. Man it is nice. Steve

that just means you need to carry a second bottle in the bag. Then you have two warm bottles!

hmmm... my wife does not share your sense of simplicity. hehehe

I may be slow... But I sure am gimpy.

"Bless you child, when you set out to thread a needle don't hold the thread still and fetch the needle up to it; hold the needle still and poke the thread at it; that's the way a woman most always does, but a man always does t'other way."
Mrs. Loftus to Huck Finn

What does the warmth do to the void trigger? We all now the old put the hand of the sleeper in a pan of warm water and await the fireworks. I think part of flamingo's hesitancy has to do with the confused urge to void. I know I have a similar concern. Is it a legitimate concern?

When I have been cold, that's when I have to get up to pee a lot. My coldest night ever was a night where I also had to get up and pee 3 or 4 times. And I was only about 35 yrs. old then. Don't know if it was coincidence or being cold and having to go are physiologically related.

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us....that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.
Romans 8:18,21-22

When I have been cold, that's when I have to get up to pee a lot. My coldest night ever was a night where I also had to get up and pee 3 or 4 times. And I was only about 35 yrs. old then. Don't know if it was coincidence or being cold and having to go are physiologically related.

somewhat related. Your body has to use work harder to maintain a full bladder at body temperature which robs warmth from other parts. Therefore a full bladder does make for a cooler body. Think of it in terms of a camp stove, you use all this fuel to warm the water just to throw the water out of the pot, not very efficient!!!

Yep Tim - I almost always sleep with my 48 oz soft-sided Nalgene canteen (here). When it's not cold, I just use it as a pillow. When it's cold, I sleep with it so my water doesn't freeze at night. When it's really cold, I put almost-boiling water in it.

I never bring my water to a rolling boil...just get the bigger bubbles going then turn it off. It makes no difference for the food, and the latent heat of vaporization makes it take a lot more gas to get the last few degrees of temperature difference. Just not worth it (or worth the wait).

In the winter, I don't put anything over the canteen. I'm usually wearing at least silkweights and/or rainpants, so it's never in direct contact with my skin. A few times it was too warm and I put it in a fleece-lined stuffsack until it cooled off. In warmer temps when I don't heat the water, I often put it in the sack b/c it's not really comfortable sleeping right on the cold water.

I trust these canteens...I've had two for about 3 years now and haven't had one leak yet. Every Platy and CamelBak I've had has leaked on me (6 total). And I think I'd be able to see where a leak was going to start beforehand so I'd know it's time to stop using it...probably at the top where the hard plastic neck connects to the soft plastic.

When I'm sitting around camp and not hiking, like at Mt Rogers, I put the canteen down the front of my pants and leave the hard top hooked on the waistband. It more-or-less stays in place as I move around and cook and stuff. And with the fire there, it's unlimited hot water!

This trick is also helpful with inflatable pads that take a long time to warm up, like the Exped Downmat 7. I throw it on the pad and cover it up with my quilt about 10 min. before I'm ready for bed...then my bed is already toasty when I lay down. Like heaven floating on nylon.

I also got a drinking tube assembly setup. A bit more weight than a standard tube-only setup, but I wouldn't trust sleeping with a bladder unless I could completely close it off like these canteens.

“Republics are created by the virtue, public spirit, and intelligence of the citizens. They fall when the wise are banished from the public councils because they dare to be honest, and the profligate are rewarded because they flatter the people, in order to betray them.” ~Judge Joseph Story

somewhat related. Your body has to use work harder to maintain a full bladder at body temperature which robs warmth from other parts. Therefore a full bladder does make for a cooler body. Think of it in terms of a camp stove, you use all this fuel to warm the water just to throw the water out of the pot, not very efficient!!!

True, but I am more referring to the urge to go, and/or excess production of urine. IOW, when I am not particularly cold while sleeping out, I normally don't get up more than once or, worse case, twice. Especially when I was 20 years younger. On occasion I don't get up at all, and in a hammock I have often not gotten up at all, even now.

But when cold weather hammock testing in recent years and pushing the limits of my insulation, I find I am way more likely to be up more than once. That night long ago when I was shivering all night, I must have been up every hour to hour and a half. Since I wasn't drinking fluids, after once or twice there shouldn't have been any full bladder to worry about.

Which makes me wonder if not being warm enough either a: increases urine production or B: simply makes anything at all in the bladder hard to tolerate.

I did just find this:
Dehydration definitely reduces the rate of urine formation, so if they had been sweating overly and not taking in fluids then that'd definitely have an effect.

However I doubt the effects of temperature itself are huge, but I suppose if one was very hot then renal blood flow might decrease, due to increased vascular flow to the skin and other peripheral areas, to cool us down. One may therefore see a small decrease in the rate of urine production, just because less blood may pass to the kidney,

And:
When the temperature is high, the volume of urine produced will be less. Since in a hot enviroment you would sweat more, specially during exercise. Sweat consists of high amounts of water and low amounts of salts, therefore resulting in urine being a darker color since it would contain low amounts of water ( due sweating) and high amounts of salts.

When the temperature is low, the volume of urine produced will be more, since very little or no sweat is released, therefore resulting in high amounts of water and salts in urine, therfore the urine would be a lighter colour than in a hot day.

Wow, talk about hijacking a thread! We hjave gone from warm water to urine!

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us....that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.
Romans 8:18,21-22